Black Cohosh for Night Sweats Reduction
Black cohosh reduces vasomotor symptom frequency in some trials and matches placebo in others.
Overview
Verdict
Modest benefit for menopausal sweats; trial results conflict.
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- 20-40 mg standardised extract twice daily
- Expected timeframe
- 8-12 weeks
Protocol
- form
- Standardised isopropanolic extract (2.5% triterpene glycosides), third-party tested
- step 1
- Confirm the sweats are menopausal - thyroid disease, infection, lymphoma, sleep apnoea and several medications also cause them
- timing
- With food, second dose in the early evening
- duration
- 8-12 weeks to judge; maximum 6-12 months with review
- titration
- Hold at 40 mg/day; consider up to 80 mg/day only for partial response at 6 weeks
- measurement
- Nights disturbed by sweating per week, before and at week 12
- starting dose
- 20 mg standardised isopropanolic extract twice daily with food
Evidence
What the studies say
Black cohosh (Cimicifuga spp.) for menopausal symptoms
Leach MJ, Moore V
There was no significant difference between black cohosh and placebo in the frequency of hot flushes or in menopausal symptom scores across the pooled trials.
Safety
Caveats
Rare hepatotoxicity reported - stop with jaundice, dark urine or abdominal pain.
Less likely to help if
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